


Fieldwork

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Blackwatch Week, Body Horror, Dubious Science, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:43:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: This isn’t how Moira envisioned her working life. She studied at the best universities, worked in the best labs with the field’s brightest minds. Everything was going swimmingly; she threw herself into her work and it was, without a doubt, the most rewarding thing she’s ever laid hands on. Moira was living her dreams.And then she published her paper.---Moira finds herself working for Blackwatch, which has some positives and negatives.





	Fieldwork

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/gifts).



> I've been working on some other fics for [Blackwatch Week](https://blackwatchweek.tumblr.com/) when this one strolled into my head last night, so please accept this humble offering for Day 2: Infiltration/ **Extraction**. More to come later this week! 
> 
> Extra grateful shout-out to [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/) for literally turning this around in an hour. She is too patient and kind to me ♥ 
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://wictorwictor.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic)!

This isn’t how Moira envisioned her working life. She studied at the best universities, worked in the best labs with the field’s brightest minds. Everything was going swimmingly; she threw herself into her work and it was, without a doubt, the most rewarding thing she’s ever laid hands on. Moira was living her dreams. 

And then she published her paper. 

The backlash was almost instantaneous - not to mention completely unexpected. When Moira submitted the paper for peer review, the panel of reviewers had only minor comments to her methodology, asking for clarification in a few select sections. Moira happily made the changes - which opened up an entirely new line of inquiry that would make for a very interesting follow up piece. She was pleased with how the paper turned out. She was excited to watch the dialogue unfold. The possibilities unfurled themselves ahead of her; Moira could envision a future where she was at the forefront of genetic modification, developing totally new technologies that would catapult humanity into the future. 

She did not expect the uproar, the outrage. 

Moira isn’t an emotional person by any stretch of the imagination, so the controversy itself did not particularly bother her. What  _ bothered _ her was the slanderous mudslinging, the lies, the accusations. It cost her her job, her lab, her reputation. Nobody would touch her with a fifteen foot pole. 

And then, out of nowhere, Commander Gabriel Reyes appeared, extending an offer that Moira could not refuse. 

At that point, what choice did she have?

Moira doesn’t resent Reyes’ offer. No, the opportunity Reyes has given her is invaluable - and mutually beneficial. Moira gets to continue her genetic studies, on a particularly willing (even  _ needy _ ) subject, and Reyes gets the peace of mind that goes with knowing his body isn’t going to succumb to the Soldier Enhancement Program’s clumsy experiments. 

In return, all Moira has to do is work on the healing tech for Blackwatch specifically and, occasionally, participate in some fieldwork. 

It’s the fieldwork, however, that Moira had not accounted for when making the calculation as to whether she should accept Reyes’ offer or not. She didn’t think that it would amount to much - she was only a scientist, after all - but Blackwatch is more strapped for resources than she had anticipated. It turns out that some of Moira’s technological innovations have particularly useful applications for black ops. 

Again, not a circumstance she could have foreseen. 

Now she finds herself pinned down in a lab that’s threatening to collapse in on itself, the result of some particularly unscrupulous munitions work that made what should’ve been an easy mission far more complicated. 

Moira finds herself yearning for the simpler days, before her lab time was interrupted with explosions and intrigue. She half-listens to the chatter on the comms as she considers her current conundrum. While the tradeoffs of her role in Blackwatch are undeniable, the unfettered nature of her position is incredibly valuable. She has to fight for her resources, certainly (though there have been some interesting offers lately - offers which Moira isn’t above taking advantage of), but she can get her hands on anything she can dream of - no questions asked. 

It’s the lack of questioning that Moira truly treasures; the blind trust that Reyes has put in her. She wonders, idly, how far he’ll let her push him. 

“Moira? How’re you doing in there?” Reyes’ voice cuts through the chatter on the comms. 

“Just grand,” Moira says. The lab is shaking around her, but, as far as she can tell, her position is safe. Her biotics are fully charged, thanks to the scientists who now lie inert at her feet. She’d be more than able to take care of herself if anything happened. 

“We’re working on extraction,” Reyes says. “The path is blocked - just sit tight.”

“I’m not planning on moving anywhere,” Moira says. She glances around the lab. It’s wholly uninteresting - some sort of eco-terrorism operation - so there isn’t anything for her to snoop through. She’s already disabled the majority of their unsophisticated tech. It’s just a waiting game. 

The chatter resumes on the comms, everyone debating the best method to extract Moira. By the sound of it, she’s not the only operative trapped in the building, but she is the most difficult to extract given the lab’s position within the building. 

An idea occurs to her. She debates the merits of it with herself, weighing the pros and cons. If it works, the concept would be positively thrilling. 

Moira opens up a private communication channel with Reyes. 

“Commander,” she says. There’s a pause. 

“Moira?” Reyes asks, his voice low. “Everything alright?”

“If I may make a suggestion?”

Another pause. “Let’s hear it.”

“Your ability might be of use here,” she says. A longer pause - long enough to make Moira begin to think Reyes didn’t hear her. “Commander?”

“I heard you,” Reyes says gruffly. There’s the sound of movement on his end, like he’s climbing over rubble. “What do you mean, exactly?”

“You’ve demonstrated better control,” Moira says slowly, reasonably. “Theoretically, you’d be able to navigate the crevices in your, ah, incorporeal form.”

“And then?” Reyes asks. “I still have to get you out.”

“I would go with you,” Moira says. A giddy feeling rises in her throat; this is something she’s wanted to try for some time, but she hadn’t yet had the opportunity. But now…

“How does that work, exactly?”

“Would you like me to explain the science of it, or do you trust me?”

Moira can imagine the face he’s making on the other end of the comms. She’s become intimately familiar with his catalogue of micro-expressions throughout the months she’s been working with him; it’s her job, as a scientist, to observe and record. 

Finally, though, Reyes says, “Alright. I’m coming.”

There’s chatter on the comms again as Reyes switches back to the squad’s main channel. Moira tries to contain her excitement. While she knows that it’s bad practice to test two variables at once, she may not get an opportunity like this again. 

Over the last few months, as Moira carefully tweaked Reyes’ DNA to slow, and then reverse, the decay of the SEP serum, she included other modifications. Reyes had initially been rather skeptical of the changes to his body, but as Moira refined them and Reyes became acclimated to the changes, he had begun to accept them. Moira’s success with Reyes emboldened her to try a version of the enhancement out on herself. Between the two of them, their unique ability should be enough to get her out of this forsaken place. 

There is, of course, the question of how physical objects like Moira’s biotic pack might fare in such an experiment, but Moira is willing to take that risk. 

It’s a while later when Reyes finally checks in to let her know he’s on the way, and even longer after that before the tendrils of black smoke ooze through a vent near the ceiling. Reyes drops to the floor with a heavy thud, his molecules coming back together sluggishly. He shakes his head as if to clear it, smoke still rising from his face and shoulders. Moira does her best not to laugh. 

“Commander,” she says, nodding to him. 

“I can’t believe that worked,” he says. 

“We’re not quite there yet,” she says, stepping towards him. She tilts her head to the side and lets her eyes roam over his body, taking stock. “How do you feel?”

Reyes shrugs, characteristically reticent. “A little dizzy.”

“Take another moment to collect yourself, then,” she says. She hopes she doesn’t sound too impatient. 

“How is this supposed to work?” Reyes asks. “How are you supposed to come with me?”

“I have a hunch,” Moira says. She turns away from him to pick up her biotic pack and sling it over her shoulder. “The effect you’re able to exert over your molecules may be replicated within a short range. It’s why you’re able to keep your clothes on.”

“Clothes are different than an entire human.”

“As observant as ever, Commander,” Moira says. She turns back to face him. “I’ve undergone a similar treatment regime to yours. While I don’t yet have your control, it should at least enable me to follow your lead.”

Reyes’ eyes go a little round while the rest of his expression remains unchanged. There’s a muscle working in his jaw as he tries to decide how to respond to her. Moira watches him, eyebrow cocked expectantly. 

“Alright,” Reyes says. “How do you want to do this?”

Moira steps into his space, and this time Reyes isn’t able to suppress the way his body goes tense when she gets up close. It’s a funny thing she’s noticed the long he spends in her lab; at first, Moira thought he had some kind of aversion to medical procedures - an odd thing for someone who came out of the Soldier Enhancement Program to have - but as time went by, Moira realized that it was  _ she _ to whom Reyes was reacting. He relies on her, surely, but there was a spot of doubt, of distrust, that lingers in the back of his mind. Moira has only just begun to work on stamping that out, but it’s a delicate process - one which cannot be rushed. The payoff, however, will be great. 

Moira wraps her hand around Reyes’ forearm. 

“Go on,” she says with a nod. Reyes meets her eyes and he takes a breath. The smoke rises up from his skin again, growing thicker and darker by the moment. Moira feels his arm dissolve under her grip, and then she lets her body follow suit. It’s still strange to feel her molecules detach and float away from her grip - she won’t deny the panic she felt the first time she let her body go incorporeal; Moira has too tight a hold on her self-control to really be comfortable with the dissolution of her body. 

But right now, the sensation is absolutely thrilling: Moira can feel Reyes’ molecules mingling with her own. She’s reassured by the feeling of control that his molecules seem to exude, so she lets the rest of her body go. And then, when the weightlessness washes over her, Reyes pulls them up. 

It’s less elegant than Moira would have hoped - it takes a fair bit of trial and error for Reyes to navigate through the ruined building - but it works. It  _ works _ . 

Reyes drops them through a vent that feeds to the exterior of the building. He lands heavily, his body beginning to reform almost immediately. Moira’s body takes longer, the molecules extracting themselves from Reyes and trying to find their correct positions. Reyes slumps against the exterior wall, breathing hard, shoulders heaving. She watches him as her body rebuilds itself. 

“How do you feel?” she asks as soon as her molecules are in enough of the right places to form words. Reyes’ gaze slides to her without moving his head. That look has returned to his eyes, though his expression is still neutral; he’s not sure whether he should be terrified or exhilarated. He seems like he’s searching for the right word. 

“Tired,” Reyes says finally. 

“We’ll need to run more tests,” Moira says. “But this is extremely interesting.”

“How did you…?” he starts to ask, then stops. Moira raises one eyebrow. 

“It’s a useful adaptation,” she says. “As we just proved. Imagine the possibilities - the applications open up so many opportunities, just think of it.”

Reyes still doesn’t look convinced. If anything, he looks nearly as spooked as he had the first time he smoked out in the chair in Moira’s lab. She should be careful; she shouldn’t push him too far, not if she wants to follow this thread to its conclusion. 

“We should get back to the others,” Reyes says finally. He turns to go. 

“What will you tell them if they ask how I got out?” she asks, out of curiosity more than anything. He half-turns his head to glance at her over his shoulder. 

“I pulled you out,” he says. “That’s the truth.”

Moira’s lip curls up at one corner. Though she may not agree with Reyes entirely on every matter, she can’t deny he has a fungible relationship with truth that she can get behind. She hopes he’ll keep letting her push him, to his limits and beyond. She really must work on erasing that doubt from his mind. 

“Just think of the possibilities,” she finds herself saying out loud again. Reyes’ brow knits together briefly but he faces front again, striving ahead to lead her back to the rest of the squad. 

Yes, Moira thinks to herself. This is just the beginning. The possibilities are endless. 


End file.
